Romulous is back with a new book in a month or so "Samurai Tales 'is published by Tuttle on 9/10.
It looks like a companion to Sketches which is in my humble opinion the authors best work ,of course its more tales of Ryoma ,Katsu and Kondo but still his books are for the most part entertaining and a good read .
For those of us heathen's that can't read kanji his books are the best game in town ,sort of like a Ryotaro Shiba for the only Eng Speaking Un literati .

The only book of this author i never cared for was Shinsengumi mainly because it seemed rushed ,if his books are taken as entertainment and a primer for interested acolytes to seek out more historical tomes like Totman ,Jansen ect than more power to him ._________________"One mans washing machine is another mans music "

I just hope Major Rom listened to Ground Control and checked his circuit board this time before leaving the capsule on a dare._________________
Heee heee! Shita iro! Shita iro! Here comes his lordship, Baka Tono!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rekishinotabi

For those of you who already own Samurai Sketches and were thinking of buying Samurai Tales, DON'T!!!

The books are exactly the same. I verified this when I thumbed through Hillsborouh's latest at a bookstore here in Tokyo. Tuttle has simply published the book under a new name. Jeff Cohen (Romulus Hillsborough) had full rights to Sketches, so him and Tuttle are trying to capitalize on the current Ryoma and Bakumatsu craze here in Japan.

HOWEVER, if you don't already own Samurai Sketches, then go ahead and get Samurai Tales. It's a fun read and in my opinion, the best this author has put out to date._________________
Heee heee! Shita iro! Shita iro! Here comes his lordship, Baka Tono!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rekishinotabi

For those of you who already own Samurai Sketches and were thinking of buying Samurai Tales, DON'T!!!

The books are exactly the same. I verified this when I thumbed through Hillsborouh's latest at a bookstore here in Tokyo. Tuttle has simply published the book under a new name. Jeff Cohen (Romulus Hillsborough) had full rights to Sketches, so him and Tuttle are trying to capitalize on the current Ryoma and Bakumatsu craze here in Japan.

HOWEVER, if you don't already own Samurai Sketches, then go ahead and get Samurai Tales. It's a fun read and in my opinion, the best this author has put out to date.

I don't own either of these titles, because the last time I checked Amazon for Samurai Sketches, it was priced out of the stratosphere. It looks like the price has come down now, though. After checking the "Look Inside" material on Amazon, it looks like the two titles are the same except for an addition noted in the introduction: two sections, one called "Katsu, Saigo and the Statue," and "Mibu Village and the Spirits of the Maekawa Residence" added at the end of "Anecdotes, Yarns and Other Vignettes" chapter in the new title. Perhaps it would be useful to buy the updated one preferentially just for completeness' sake. I don't know if any other changes were made, as the updated version's page count is slightly lower (this could be due to page size or any number of factors)._________________"It is largely left to her (Nature) own natural bodily perfection, and she has no special need to resort to artificial coloring and powdering to look beautiful." -Takeda Shingen's "death poem," borrowed from Zen literature.

Its actually being marketed here as a brand new book
so i guess i cant say its a cheap shot bearing in mind the price of both so an expensive kick in the nuts will have to do .
It seems Mr Cohen has a touch of the Turnbull's or maybe he was listening to the old Roxy Music song "Remake Remodel",even the two so called new articles were in his short lived "Samurai Papers "newsletter .
I was upset that after some 2 years his shinsengumi book was a mere 150 odd pages ,now here we are some 5 years after gumi and the new book is just regurgitated (bleep!!!)from 2000 .
Its a shoddy marketing ploy and should come with a warning for unsuspecting readers that purchased his previous stuff ._________________"One mans washing machine is another mans music "

Thanks for the warning! I had been planning on buying it. Seems like rather a cheap trick to sell copies to folks who think it's a new book.

I read the forward in a bookstore the other day. Hillsborough clearly states that this is a revised edition of his previously published Samurai Sketches and contains a couple of new entries, as Onna pointed out.

I still stand by my previous statement that for those who already own Sketches, it's not necessary to plop down the cash for Tales unless you are rabid Saigo Takamori fan and have a thing for Hillsborough's writing, said Obenjo as he slammed his fist on the coffee table in a state of agitated excitement!

And Lemon-- and after listening to some old Brian Ferry/Roxy Music while thinking about Hillsborough/Cohen's writing career if there is "More than This". (Great song!)_________________
Heee heee! Shita iro! Shita iro! Here comes his lordship, Baka Tono!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rekishinotabi

I still stand by my previous statement that for those who already own Sketches, it's not necessary to plop down the cash for Tales unless you are rabid Saigo Takamori fan and have a thing for Hillsborough's writing, said Obenjo as he slammed his fist on the coffee table in a state of agitated excitement!